Kansas University and Oklahoma State are co-picks of Big 12 Conference men’s basketball coaches to win the 2004-05 league championship.
The Jayhawks, who reached the Elite Eight last year, and Cowboys, who advanced to the Final Four, are logical picks for the top spot considering both teams return four starters.
“I don’t know why anybody would sleep on Oklahoma State,” said KU coach Bill Self, who tapped OSU No. 1 in the league along with five other coaches.
“Oklahoma State returns four starters. They lost a first-round pick (in Tony Allen) but return All-America candidates in (Joey) Graham and (John) Lucas. They also had an exceptional recruiting year.”
The Jayhawks and Cowboys each tallied six first-place votes — coaches weren’t allowed to vote for their own teams — and 116 points in the poll released Thursday. It marks the first time two teams tied for No. 1 in the preseason poll.
Texas placed third with 97 points, followed by Oklahoma (94), Missouri (80), Iowa State (68), Texas Tech (61), Nebraska (47), Kansas State (42), Colorado (31), Texas A&M (29) and Baylor (11).
“Texas is terrific — young but experienced with (senior Jason) Klotz and (junior Brad) Buckman and (sophomore P.J.) Tucker,” Self said. “Oklahoma will be much improved. Tech will very good, as will Missouri, Iowa State. I think our league is going to be balanced. There will be three, four, five teams that will be preseason top-20 teams. It is a league in which multiple teams have a chance to win the conference title.”
KU has been selected first in the coaches poll in six of eight years. There was no poll in 1996-97.
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Veteran writer likes KU: One person who would have voted the Jayhawks undisputed No. 1 in the Big 12 is Dick “Hoops” Weiss of the New York Daily News. He was at Allen Fieldhouse on Thursday to interview coaches and members of his preseason No. 1 team — Kansas.
“They have three senior stars including a point guard who has started four years,” Weiss said of point guard Aaron Miles, as well as Wayne Simien and Keith Langford. “They have a sophomore shooter (J.R. Giddens). They can go 11 deep and are at least two deep at every position now, three deep at the center spot.
“When a team has three seniors on a mission, it’s always dangerous,” Weiss added. “I saw it with Maryland (2002). I’ve seen it with a lot of schools. Why not Kansas?”
Weiss is a big fan of Self.
“You can tell he really values small-town roots and hasn’t gotten carried away with who he is,” Weiss said of Self, who grew up in Edmond, Okla. “He likes what he does and is appreciative of being here. You can see why kids would gravitate to him. He’s recruiting kids from all walks of life and economic strata. He’s getting kids here from the Bronx (Russell Robinson) and Siberia (Sasha Kaun). That’s pretty impressive to me.”
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Perkins giddy about BoSox: KU athletic director Lew Perkins wore a suit, tie and Boston Red Sox hat to work Thursday.
The hat remained on Perkins’ noggin all day.
“I’m 59 years old. I’ll be 60 in March. I’ve been a Red Sox fan since Day One,” said Perkins, a Chelsea, Mass., native who was glowing after Wednesday’s Game 7 ALCS victory over the Yankees.
“A bunch of guys are going to the World Series who hung in there all year long. Do I wish they’d shave and cut their hair? Yes. But as I told my Yankee friends … the Yankees look good because they make all these advertisements. The Red Sox are playing baseball, chewing tobacco.”
The former UConn and Maryland AD called dozens of his Yankee-fan buddies in the wee hours after Wednesday’s game. The BoSox last won a World Series in 1918; the Yankees have won 26 world titles since then.
He couldn’t resist jabbing the Yankees.
“The Red Sox have a history of losing when one guy makes an error, one guy strikes out, one guy gives up a home run,” Perkins said.
“For a Yankee fan … the whole team kind of let it go by. I love Alex Rodriguez. I think he’s a heckuva baseball player, but that’s what happens when you snub the Red Sox.”
Perkins has his favorite Red Sox players.
“Sammy White, Walt Dropo who was a Connecticut graduate, Jackie Jensen, Mel Parnell, Jimmy Piersall, obviously Ted Williams, Carl (Yastrzemski), Norm Zauchin, Bobby Doerr,” he said, rattling off names of past heroes.
“There’s not a better place to watch baseball than Fenway.”
